


New Beginnings

by EntreNous



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-31
Updated: 2009-03-31
Packaged: 2017-12-26 08:12:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/963626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EntreNous/pseuds/EntreNous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Ron wants George to leave off setting him up on dates, he is going to need Remus's help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> For the March Spring/Birthday challenge over at remus_ron_slash.

In the middle of the Weasleys' lively Easter celebration, Remus wandered into the thankfully empty kitchen, leaned out the open window for a bit of fresh air, and saw Ron Weasley outside scowling at the daffodils.

He was about to duck back in, assuming Ron had sought out some peace and quiet on this warm day, when Ron started and called, "Hallo!"

Remus smiled. "I wondered where you had got to."

"You did?" Ron loped towards the window. He seemed flustered for some reason.

"Yes; you disappeared when Molly handed round the cake, and I thought it wasn't like you to miss pudding."

Ron snorted as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Had to leave. George made that toast about new beginnings."

Remus made an inquiring noise.

"Now that Hermione's gotten engaged to the fellow she met at university, George keeps trying to set me up."

"I see. No luck so far?"

"Half of the girls he's had me meet are mental; the other half think _I'm_ mental."

The situation reminded Remus of James pressing him to date friends of Lily's; he had been miserable throughout the process. For some reason, though, reflecting on Ron Weasley's lack of love life in the spring sunlight made him feel cheerful.

"I just want him to leave off."

With a sympathetic nod, Remus murmured, "He'll stop if he thinks you've found someone on your own."

Ron raised his head sharply and gave Remus a shrewd gaze. Remus felt himself flush in response before he cleared his throat. It was easy to forget sometimes that the youngest of the Weasley boys noticed more than he let on, but moments like this reminded Remus quite clearly.

"I don't suppose," Ron said slowly.

"Oh, I don't think I know any young women you would be interested in," Remus hastened to say.

"Not that. You said if he thought I had met someone, he would leave me be."

"That's right."

"Would you have dinner with me Friday?"

Remus had to grip the window's frame to keep from pitching forward. "Sorry, what?"

"Well, like you said, George will leave me alone if he thinks I've got someone."

"You mean me?" Remus actually pointed at himself before he laughed. "Ron, much as I'd like to help you, I'm far too old, and just, well, too _male_ for George to believe --"

"No, it's perfect, see? Because then George will stop entirely even if you only go out with me the one time. Can't imagine he'd be so keen on setting me up with blokes. It solves everything."

"Except for the part where you would be making me take part in deceiving your brother, and using me as a cover instead of telling him outright to stop getting you dates you don't want."

"Oh." Ron's face fell.

Remus sighed. Ron looked so forlorn there in the garden, his hair glinting copper in the sun, his blue eyes downcast. "When shall we meet?" he said finally.

"Really?"

Remus felt himself color once more as Ron first stared at him with his lips parted and then grinned at him full force.

"I'm only doing this in the interests of a really fine prank, you understand," Remus joked.

"And for a free dinner," Ron pointed out.

"Well, obviously."

*~*

That Friday, Ron met Remus at the small private library Remus was currently cataloguing so he could take him to the restaurant, which he had until that point kept mum about.

They got outside in the fine mist of the early evening, and Ron offered his arm. "It's easier this way," he explained. Remus shrugged and took it.

They Apparated into The Leaky Cauldron, and Ron said aloud, "Don't worry; we're not eating here."

"Thank you very much," Hannah Abbot complained from behind the bar.

"It's not that," Ron assured her as they walked towards the rear of the pub. "I'll be back on Tuesday with Seamus and Dean, Hannah, you'll see."

"See if I serve you anything then," she shot back, but she laughed. "Professor," she added, with a nod for Remus.

"It's just Remus Lupin now," he told her.

"I can see _that_ ," she called after them in an amused voice as they left the main room and made their way into Diagon Alley.

*~*

"Are you certain?" Remus asked for the fifth time as the server left after a _sotto voce_ recitation of that night's special wines.

"Yes, I'm certain." The tips of Ron's ears were red as he crossed his arms. "I've been getting better pay now that I'm no longer just a junior Auror. I can afford this."

"It really is a marvelous place you've chosen, but it's obviously also very expensive. If you wanted to save your money for an actual date, I would think --"

"Could we get that first wine you mentioned?" Ron said loudly to the passing server. "Look, I wanted to take you some place really good," he explained when Remus gave him a skeptical look. "With wine, and excellent food, and everything. Since you're doing all this just to be nice, after all," he added.

"Yes," Remus muttered as he looked down at the handwritten parchment that served for a menu. At least that way he didn't have to see how very blue Ron's eyes were in the candle light, or how an earnest expression made him look particularly handsome. "That's me exactly; doing things just to be nice."

*~*

The wine really was quite excellent, so much so that they polished off the first bottle before their entrees were complete and were partway through the second by the time the dessert course came around.

"So has George been less fervent in his attempts to fix you up of late?" Remus asked as Ron gave a contented sigh and kicked back in his chair.

"What?" Ron gave him a confused look. "Oh, right, that. Er . . . yeah, he was put right off it when I told him I was dating you."

"Good," Remus said after a pause.

"Ron!" a voice called, and Ron gazed up at the intruder with a look of pure panic on his face.

"George," Remus said warmly as the elder Weasley approached their table, a smiling Angelina Johnson on his arm. "We were just speaking of you."

"See that? You say my name, and I appear." George snapped his fingers.

"Yeah, well, you can disappear whenever you like," Ron muttered.

"Shall we join you?" Angelina asked. She had been glancing back and forth at Remus and Ron, and now she gave Remus a knowing smile.

"Oh, you had best not," Remus said, remembering that he should play his part. "After all, Ron and I are on a date."

"On a date?" George repeated. He seemed on the verge of laughing, but manfully held back.

"Yeah," Ron said, sitting up straighter. His voice broke a bit, but then he continued on with determination. "You can just go sit elsewhere. Remus and I want to be alone."

George grinned. "Wait a moment. You and Remus?"

Ron glanced at Remus, obviously disconcerted by his brother pressing the point. So Remus sighed and went into the breach once more. "Yes, George. So you needn't worry about finding Ron any other dates. As you might imagine, I'm the jealous type."

" _Are_ you?" George looked positively delighted at this news. "Now, about those other dates," he said at once as he turned to Ron, leaning with his palms flat on their table.

"Well, we had best be off to our own table," Angelina interceded, giving George a healthy shove towards the opposite end of the restaurant. "Have a lovely time, and don't worry about George setting you up ever again, Ron."

George stumbled off with Angelina walking elegantly behind him.

Remus turned to ask about the odd final exchange when he realized Ron's face had gone almost white under his freckles.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Ron gaped at him, but no words came out of his mouth.

"That was rather a surprise, I suppose," Remus continued. "But I thought you had already told George about the date."

Ron shook his head, but then nodded. He still seemed incapable of producing actual sounds.

Remus frowned. "Actually, I suppose we needn't have come here at all, if telling him would have done the job. I feel badly that you've wasted your pay. Still, he seemed somewhat surprised to find us together."

Ron gripped the tabletop and took a deep breath. "That's because I didn't tell him about the date."

"But you said -- all that talk about his toast --"

"Oh, that. He was talking about his engagement to Angelina, not about me and dating." With an agitated expression, Ron ran his fingers through his hair, making it nearly stand up. Oddly, Remus thought the arrangement most fetching on him. "I only said that because -- look, I just wanted to ask you out, and I didn't know how to do it."

"What?" Remus felt for a moment as though he was back in the kitchen of the Burrow, a little blinded by the warm sunlight and by the picture of Ron Weasley standing watching him from the gardens.

"I just." Ron looked positively miserable. "I like you, and I thought, well. You probably wouldn't have agreed to go out with me just from me asking."

Remus couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. At first Ron looked positively crestfallen, but as Remus shook his head and continued to laugh, the corners of his mouth quirked in an uncertain smile.

"You might have tried just asking," Remus replied as soon as he had caught his breath.

"Would you have said yes?" Ron asked eagerly.

"We'll never know now," Remus pointed out.

"Really?"

Remus sighed. "I -- well, I probably would have said no. After all, as far as I know, you seem to like girls --"

" -- haven't thought that of myself since Hermione," Ron interrupted.

"Regardless, I am far too old for you," Remus said firmly.

"That's so ridiculous I won't even give it the time of day," Ron told him.

"Add to that the fact that I'm a werewolf," Remus said, his voice dropping to a discreet whisper.

"That?" Ron waved off Remus's reminder as though it were of little consequence. "Pfft. I've known that since I was thirteen. It doesn't bother me one bit."

Remus moaned softly. "Thirteen? Never mind whether you think I'm old or no, but I was your teacher when you were _thirteen_."

"Yeah." Ron grinned at him.

Remus stared at Ron's embarrassed but hopeful smile before laughing again. "Lord, you make me feel like a dirty old man."

"What, just saying that?" Ron snickered. "Let's get out of here, and see if I can _really_ make you feel like a dirty old man. Though you're not _old_ ; as I said before, that's ridiculous," he added gallantly.

Remus smiled widely. "Why, Ronald Weasley, you do seem to have a positively filthy mind when you've a bottle of wine in you."

Ron waggled his red eyebrows at him in a manner obviously meant to be lascivious. "Why not come back to my flat and find out how much?"

Remus got to his feet somewhat unsteadily, immediately supported by Ron's hand at his elbow. "This is a terrible idea. Aside from all the other problems I've mentioned, we've both had too much to drink, and --"

"Tell you what, you can explain all of that to me come morning," Ron said cheerfully as he linked his arm with Remus's and led them outside.

 

 

***~* the end *~***


End file.
